It's been a month since my last post but I have been writing. Been reading through the book of Habakkuk and it's been quite enriching in my view of God's justice, but it is a hard book to write about so my next proper post will probably be a large one.

I came across this article which I found interesting, it's about churches joining the cause of lowering greenhouse gas emission levels with the science community.

It's a delicate balance in a way, when does the church's involvement in an issue become more than us being light in this world and instead portraying us as a political force?

I guess it's a question of church leadership, some churches do not really get involved in their members lives, adopting a "we teach, you live" philosophy while some form close communities that encourage members to adopt values and sometimes even lifestyles

I sometimes wonder what the role of the church is in a Christian's life, since it is often a dividing line between denominations and churches and it shouldn't be.

Can leaders of the Christ learn to be strong Christians, to be true light of the world and to be filled with the Holy Spirit and the knowledge of God's love? And will the church become a place of true worship, worship that is not just comfortable to us but be pleasing to God?

I guess I can start by praying for it...

Habakkuk
Do we ever ask the big questions in life? The ones that go beyond who we're going to be with on Saturday night, what the next fad we're going to indulge in, questions that puts us on the spot. Questions that concern the world's people, it's comings and goings, and questions about justice.

It's been a while since I asked myself about justice, so when I started reading Habakkuk, it was a time of reminders about the deeper side of calling myself a Christitan.

Do we love God enough to love justice?

That was the first question I asked myself as Habakkuk complains to God:

"Why do you make me look at injustice?
Why do you tolerate wrong?
Destruction and violence are before me;
There is strife, and conflict abounds"

There is a saying that "charity is easy, justice is a lot harder", and that may be true for me. I find it quite easy to smile and be nice, or even to give to others (preferably visibly and with tax deductions) but when it comes to pursuing justice the way God has intended it, it becomes a much higher wall to climb.

It's a real test of our maturity as Christians to be think beyond our own needs and wants to God's desire and we can be sure that throughout the Bible, God makes his desires for justice clear. One verse that is quite clear is found in Deuteronomy 16:20

"Follow justice and justice alone, so that you may live and possess the land the Lord your God is giving you"

Concerning Habakkuk's complaints the Lord decides to reveal the nature of His justice, one that is both beyond understanding yet ultimately consistent with his nature. Why does God allow injustice in the world? I think it's such that we may be saved. In chapter 2 God replies with words of assurance that he is in control and he prevails over injustice though it may seem to conquer.

"Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets
so that a herald may run with it.
For the revelation awaits an appointed time;
it speaks of the end and will not prove false.
Though it linger, wait for it;
It will certainly come and will not delay

See, he is puffed up;
his desires are not upright---
but the righteous will live by his faith "

We can see in God's reply to Habakkuk that there is a distinct difference between God ignoring injustice and being faithful to his timing. Indeed he is so meticulous in his details that he challenges us to write it down and so that it is not merely spoken words but permanently set in stone.
And God does not ignore injustice at all, if anything, he lists from v9 - 19 those who have been unjust and how they will be dealt with.

Habakkuk ends the book with a prayer citing her decision to wait on the Lord and his justice.

"I heard and my heart pounded,
my lips quivered at the sound;
decay crept into my bones,
and my legs trembled.
Yet I will wait patiently for the day of calamity
to come on the nation invading us.

Though the fig tree does not bud
and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen
and no cattle in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the LORD,
I will be joyful in God my Savior.

The Sovereign LORD is my strength;
he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
he enables me to go on the heights.
For the director of music. On my stringed instruments."

Let that be our prayer too and our live, forever waiting on the Lord until his justice arrives and to adopt his sense of justice for ourselves.

Categories: Thoughts, Habakkuk